Jerusalem/Moscow: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu firmly presented his stand before the Russian President Vladimir Putin says, “Israel would never tolerate Hezbollah’s aggression at our borders and Iran’s deployment in Syria”. Also, the Russian President appealed for improvement in military co-operation concerning Syria. The Israeli and Russian leaders had a telephonic discussion against the backdrop of the developments in Syria and Lebanon.

On Saturday, the Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu had called Russian President Putin. The Israeli Prime Minister informed the Russian President about the Operation Northern Shield undertaken by the Israeli military against the Hezbollah Terror Tunnels near the Lebanese border. Netanyahu further said that Israel would not tolerate the Hezbollah activities near the Lebanese border, the Iranian military deployment in Syria and the military assembly in the Golan Heights region with assistance from Hezbollah. The Prime Minister’s office in Israel published the informed.

The Russian President’s office also confirmed the information. At the same time, the Russian government clarified that a constructive discussion occurred between the two leaders regarding Syria. The Russian President’s office further informed that Putin and Netanyahu also had discussions about reinstating the bilateral military ties, which had strained due to the attack on the Russian aircraft in Syria.

In September, tensions had escalated between Russia and Israel after the downing of the Russian military aircraft in Syria. Although the Syrian military had carried out the attack, Russia had held Israel responsible for the attack and threatened with retaliation. Following this, Russia deployed the S-300 air defence system in Syria. However, Israel had declared that the attacks in Syria would continue despite the deployment. Only last week, Israel had carried out air attacks in Syria. Given the developments, the discussions between Putin and Netanyahu hold significance.